1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to prying tools and, more particularly, to a roofing tool that eases the labor-intensive process of removing roofing materials, such as, for example, shingles, built-up roofs, single ply roofs, etc., from an underlying surface. The present invention finds particular application as a bladed roof tool that utilizes a leverage action to “rip” roofing materials off a roof. However, it is to be appreciated that the invention may relate to other similar environments and applications.
2. Description of the Art
Proper building maintenance periodically requires the roof of a building to be repaired and/or replaced. With a shingle roof, it is often desirable to remove the old shingles prior to installing new shingles. Although new shingle roofs can sometimes be installed directly on top of old shingle roofs, such layering is sometimes impractical, such as when the old roof is concealing damage to a roof sub-structure that needs repaired. Moreover, adding new shingles over old shingles can be in violation of building codes as many building codes restrict or limit the number of shingle layers allowed on a particular roof. Thus, not only is it often desirable, but it is often necessary to remove old shingles prior to installing a new shingle roof. Similarly, other roofing materials, such as built-up roofs and single ply roofs, are often desirably removed when repairing or replacing a roof.
When shingles or other roofing materials of a roof are replaced, the old roofing materials are typically discarded as they are not usually reusable. Roof material removal and, particularly, shingle removal are often labor intensive processes and, since the removed materials are merely discarded, it is desirable to remove the old materials quickly, conveniently and in the least expensive manner. Heretofore, several roof material and shingle-removing tools have been devised to assist in the removal of old roofing materials and shingles but such removal remains a labor intensive task. Thus, roof material and shingle removal tools that can further reduce the labor and time involved in removing old roofing materials are deemed desirable.